(12.22.06) DENMARK has never been a centre of electronic music, as such. European
electro has nearly always stemmed from Britain, Germany or Holland. But this
does not mean that electronic musicians have not been stewing in
Scandinavia, not by any means. One duo of Danes has been producing well thought out electro for some time now, The Seducers. The partnership of
Gentle Kay and Charmy Dee started out on the small Danish label of
Musicsystem before setting up their own Copenhagen based imprint: Cytown
Records, a name reflecting the Blade Runner robotic sound of the twosome,
was founded in 2006. Cytown, in its infancy, has already released two
records; both of which feature some pretty big names in the world of
electro. But, is this Danish electro duo up to the same standards of its other
European counterparts?
The first release to come from this new born label was the two track 12″ of
Beyond Love / Atmosfetmin. For “Beyond Love” the Copenhagen pairing called
on the vocal services of a past Viewlexx artist, the highly talented Nancy
Fortune. It’s a dark, lumbering electro number; a futuristic audio wasteland
of bleeps, bass and beats in which Fortune’s voice haunts the electro
expanses of The Seducer’s sonorous world. “Atmosfetmin” is more of a beat
based piece. Squalid, echoing acid melodies blunder across the track to
produce an abrasively clever electro work. CY001 set the label off to a
good start, CY002 followed suit.
The Seducers second instalment, Unavoidable Infiltrators, on Cytown
Records is set to be released soon. This new vinyl release has the same feel
as the debut piece of Cytown. However, on this two tracker, the tempo is
much more relaxed. “Unavoidable Infiltrators” is built on a foundation of
laid back tones with scant crackles and vocoders. Metallic twangs laser
through the calm rhythms, and vocoder lyrics slide in to produce a well
rounded, moody electro track. The B-Side features a remix by Brain Chinetti
a.k.a. Orgue Electronique. A dubby mix of the original, a track that moves away
from Orgue’s more electro centred sound. In this version, the vocoder lyrics
play more of a pivotal role but in distorted and metallic way.
The Seducers have managed to create an electro label that not only has a
great sound, but has great enthusiasm. Cytown’s opening releases showcase
The Seducers’ talent and their connections to the electro community, with artists like Nancy Fortune and Orgue Electronique offering up
their abilities and expertise to the fledgling imprint. It’s wonderful to
see electro artists coming from countries that don’t have a huge history of
electronic music coming to the fore and producing high quality synthesized
sounds. Cytown has started with two well conceived and produced
releases; let’s hope it will continue down this path of expert electro on
which it has begun.
